Life, 1899-03-25 · page 22 of 32
Life — March 25, 1899 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the miseries of homeownership through comic illustrations and a melancholic poem. The cartoons show a man repeatedly discovering problems with his newly built house—pest invasions ("Would you help a poor sewer what's jes' come back from Cuba?"), structural failures, and unwelcome visitors. The poem, attributed to Tom Masson, chronicles a homeowner's regrets: the endless mortgage, the architect's inflated fees (paid three times the quoted price), unexpected construction flaws, water damage in the cellar during rains, and the cruel irony of renting the house to tenants while he himself must live elsewhere due to financial strain. The Easter Sunday illustration of a woman in a decorative dress appears unrelated—likely a seasonal fashion feature. The satire targets the gap between homeownership dreams and disappointing reality, particularly the dishonest contractor/architect who overcharges and underperforms—a timeless complaint.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
| | i “WERE COMES ANOTHER, AND I'LL SWAT TIM.” “OREAT CHAR! MY CLIENT!” Hard to Forget. REMEMBER, I remember, ‘The house I built one year. The mortgage is upon it yet; ‘Twill stay there, too, I fear, I remember, I remember, The countless plans I made, And all the calculations So proudly I essayod. I remember, I remember, That most eventlul day Tho house was done. I bad not dreamed That it would look that way. I remember, I remember, Each rain, howe'er remoto; For on those sad occasions My cellar was afloat. I remember, I romembor, My famous architect ; I paid him thrice as much as ho Had led me to expect. Remomber! I should say so! How can I e’er forget That house! Though not the owner, I'm living in it yet. Tom Masson, FOR RASTER SUNDAY.